I posted this on the Excursion thread, but am cross-posting on the recommendation of a more established member!

My husband and I are looking at 2 Exes for towing our 7600 pound (when empty) trailer, plus teenagers and dogs. We have the cash and are ready to go forward, but it's not obvious to us which one is the better bet for about the same asking price...just wondering if you see what we can't. Any thoughts would be so much appreciated...

Here's the quick rundown:

2003 EB 7.3: 195K, New leaf springs and Bilstein shocks, drives nicely, great maintenance & records, pretty clean inside, rust-free underneath; southern car; original owner; new engine 120K miles ago, 20-inch Nittos, good life left, pretty much stock, back up camera, stock stereo, electrical issue of windows/stereo going out sometimes-manual switch installed as a remedy for that-kind of like a reset, apparently? [How concerning is this issue?]

2002 Limited Ultimate 7.3: 250K; Hydra chip, ceramic brakes, with second owner who had it about a year, 4 inch turbo back exhaust, not a southern car, some rust, nothing tragic; rebuilt tranny about 70K miles ago, airbags, 20-inch Toyos, good life left, S&B cold air intake, custom bull bar giant, (solid and in great shape) and 12K winch, has all maintenance records; seems to shift a little hard- not hesistating, but a little clunky/noticable, backup camera, Nav, Kenwood stereo. One window not working, throwing a glow circuit engine code, missing the line for the winch, some surface rust underneath.

Thanks for any insight!!

Lizzie

 

The 2003 with 195k sounds like it was treated better? Also no rust. Do you know what brand the new motor was? Any paperwork on it? That would be the one I would lean towards. Where are you located and price range. I have seen a nice one in southern pa, cant remember details but could try and find it again

 

@ESwift Engine was put in at the dealership along with a new oil cooler in 2010. I don't have the paperwork in hand, but a spreadsheet. I'm sure the paperwork would be passed along with the sale. We're in NC. Both are asking $18,500.

And OMG, you have a Centurion! Those are crazy! My son was trying to get us to buy one that he found for us, but it's not the right fit right now. So cool!

 

I would def say to lean towards the 03 then.

I have always wanted a centurion, so when this one with 74,000 miles in near mint shape popped up on craigslist with the 5th wheel in my pic, I jumped on it before asking my wife. She got home and I told her load kids up we are heading to Carlisle PA (3hours south of us) I just bought a truck and camper. She thought I was joking at first. She really thought it was a joke when I told her I got the package for $16,000
To me it was a crazy good deal. Every receipt from new for them and every maintenance record from the dealer near them. It was an older couple with no kids that had bought them new.
I was initially looking for an ex as well but my mind changed real quick!

 

You found an 03 with mileage that low for $18,500?!?!?!?! I haven't seen one like that for under $25k

 

1. When buying a 7.3L anything - you either want stock, or you want to know the owner knows precisely what he is doing with upgrades. The second truck made my face wrinkle.
2. If the vehicle is relatively rust-free, this would be a good time to maybe do some preventative measures under there to keep it that way. This option doesn't exist with the second truck.
3. New leaf springs is a measure that is not commonly done for run-of-the-mill upkeep - this is an owner that takes care of his stuff and wants to keep enjoying its use. The fact that the Nittos aren't shredded and/or lopsided after some use is an even bigger indicator of loving care of the truck. It's expensive to replace leaf springs, then have the front end "dialed" to them to prevent excessive tire wear and other funky issues with steering/braking.

Funky window switches have been repaired with something as simple as a good contact cleaner (I use De-Oxit). I can't tell you how many electrical and electronic devices I've repaired with some cleaning and a spritz of De-Oxit. Switches aren't expensive if that doesn't square it away.

Hard shifting is from the Hydra tuner. Going into the wayback machine, all adjustments in the transmission were mechanical and good tow rigs had hard shifts. Fast-forward to the early 2000s, and they put controls in there to adjust the shifts. You can ease into gear, but still apply plenty of pressure to hold the torque. Hard shifts today are nothing more than appeasing us old boomers who want to know that sumbich is holding. You can change the tune real easy - but what has been going on in there until now? Nobody can know.

 

$18,500 around here for a 7.3 Ex is a steal...
$16,000 for the Centurion AND a 5th wheel with 74K miles is BEYOND a steal...I don't even know WHAT to call that... a gift from God himself.

 

I picked the right day to type “camper” into craigslist search. Came up as 2002 signature 5th wheel for 16,000 and 1999 f350
i called and inquired saying I assumed they were 16k each, they said no thats for both. I couldnt say SOLD fast enough! I gave them every penny, never asked them to go lower

 

@ESwift That is a GREAT story! What a deal!! My first camper was a Rialta, so I can totally appreciate a love for the quirky awesomeness of something special like the Centurion. They were really ahead of their time! And a camper with it? For 16K? That's insane. What a find! @HKusp Right????

@M3rc We've been looking high and low for whatever is procurable given our crazy dynamics these days. We were thrilled to find a couple close to home that might work for us.

@Tugly The upgrades were done by a Diesel shop locally. I don't know the place, but they get good reviews on Google. Don't know... Totally agree on preventative on the rust. We want this to last a looooong time! Thanks for the info on the leaf springs. I had no idea.

The owner is also throwing in a new sway bar they ordered but didn't yet install. They were trying to get it in great shape as the people were planning to do more towing, but then decided to get a newer truck instead.

New engine because of head gasket.

Also..they added new rear leaf springs--Upgraded to f250 springs, 800 lbs more load capacity.
-- Upgraded heavy duty KYB shock absorbers, front and rear
--Slight oil leak from turbo area. Most likely turbo stand seals or high pressure oil line

I think they're open to negotiating on the cost of repairing the oil leak.

Thanks for all the thoughts! It all really helps and I need to learn as much as I can to take good care of our new addition!

 

The excursion is a great tow rig. The kids have room to bring their friends and pets. The rear springs in the excursion is almost necessary. The stock springs were soft and over time (18 yrs) they get weak and bouncy. This was ford making the excursion more suburban ish.

Im sure this was said above. I would want to see the receipts for the motor work.
For a quick rust check I always look at the door lips. Along the bottom of the door under the weather strip. The rear doors of the excursion are fiberglass so never a worry about rust there. Dont let your kids operate that rear glass. If the lower barn doors aren't shut..it's a 500$ replacement.

The electric issue is the gem. I had it on my 03. I used a jumper in the fuse panel to remedy it. It's a non issue unless the unconventional fix bothers you.

I agree with Tugly. I like stock. I like original owner. And good maintenance.

 

Not 4x4 but
https://albuquerque.craigslist.org/c...208475919.html

 

Thats a nice clean ex for a good price!

 

There was a one but with the v10 locally that was converted to a 17-20 front end and quarter panels, dude wanted 20k iirc but it was a well done conversion.

 

2002 Excursion Limited 4x4 7.3L 229K all stock in California $15,630

No relation or connection to me. I just found it on Craigslist a few seconds ago.

 

Add my vote for the 03.

I like my trucks tuned but want to buy them stock.

Rust free, one owner, and great maintenance records caught my attention right off.

Good luck with your decision and purchase. Hope to see you back here soon hanging out with us 7.3 crazies. We do love to spend other people’s money.